A Very Special Christmas Eve
by siriuslymaddie
Summary: A fluffy/sappy Steve/Danny story featuring Grace. Christmas Eve is changed once the Mistletoe comes out. A holiday present for my friend Becca!


_HERE IT IS! I apologise for the ridiculous amounts of CHEESINESS in this fic because...honestly, I couldn't stop writing so it ended up being about ten pages in Word and I couldn't un-cheesify it. So just to let you know now, I'm sorry and I can't read it back because of how ridiculously random it is. This is for my friend Becca! I'm sorry it's later than the vid I made you, but I hope you like it. Unfortunately, your awesome story puts this one to shame because after reading it, I wanted to scrap this one entirely but OH WELL. I might as well post it. AND, thank you to everyone that has commented on my other stories, I do read the comments and I appreciate them all. By the way, I also hope that Mary doesn't die in the next episode. :( That would be sad. OKAY, I'M LEAVING NOW. ENJOY THE LAMENESS. _

_- Maddie_

**A Very Special Christmas Eve**

"What are you looking at? Don't make me shoot you – don't think that I'll forget that you tried to shoot me ten minutes ago. I can make it look like an accident, don't even try me-," Danny said to the criminal that they had just caught after a long day at work. Danny pushed the man's head down and into the cop car, shutting the door.

He was interrupted by Steve who walked over, an amused smile on his face as he watched his partner, it turning into that strange satisfied grin he always seemed to be sporting after a massive bust such as this one. One that Danny thought was unhealthy considering that normal people would be scarred by all of the constant danger they were being flung into, whereas Steve seemed to get a real kick out of it.

"So, this threatening of the suspects is proper procedure?" Steve teased as he leaned against the door of the cop car that Danny had just shut.

"No, no, no," Danny said, "That is not a suspect - that is a criminal, he's the _guy_. The procedure changes when you've got the guy."

"Ah, of course, how could I forget? Well good job, partner, at you know, getting "_the guy_"," Steve made quotation signs in the air and Danny raised an eyebrow.

"Are you mocking me?"

"On Christmas Eve? Of course not!"

"No, of course not," Danny said as he started to walk away, Steve pushing himself up off of the car to follow, "You don't mock me on Christmas Eve, you just mock me all of the time in between."

"Okay, now that hurts. You make it sound like I'm the worst person in the world!" Steve said, trying to hide his smirk.

"You know, this attitude that you adopt after having been shot at for ten straight minutes with really no guarantee that you'd live to see tomorrow really disturbs me."

"How so?" Steve asked as they walked to Danny's car.

"You're ecstatic!" Danny exclaimed. "I don't care if you're a big man, Super Seal that runs on batteries, nobody should be ecstatic after something like this! You killed two guys!"

"Hey, that was in self defense."

"Right."

"And besides, I'm not ecstatic about that per se."

Danny sighed. "Then what?"

"It's Christmas Eve!" Steve said, grinning like a child. "That…and we got the bad guys, but more so because it's Christmas Eve."

"Are you getting up to anything for Christmas Eve?" Danny asked as he leaned up against his car and folded his arms. He was looking up at Steve through his lashes, trying to suppress that sudden bout of jealousy that rose up in his throat as his mind jumped to the thought that Steve might spend Christmas Eve with that girl who he managed to make dates with while in high-speed pursuit. Only that could really make Steve this ecstatic as he remembered him the morning after one of their rendezvous.

Steve thought about it for a moment and then leaned in close to Danny's face, practically resting his forehead against Danny's, as he said, "I might be. Depending on what happens with the _person_ that I _invited over_ for Christmas Eve."

That's when Danny remembered that he was the person that Steve had invited over. Suddenly he didn't feel so jealous.

"Sorry? Come slightly closer, I didn't hear you," Danny mocked, trying to hide the grin that was threatening to overtake his entire sarcastic attitude. He mocked Steve while still feeling slightly like a teenager again, blushing at the thought of being invited over to Steve's house. That and how close Steve was to his face.

Steve grinned and pulled back just slightly while still maintaining the small distance between their bodies, his arm leaning on the car near Danny's head.

"Am I going to get an answer yet or are you going to continue thinking that I'm secretly a psychopath?" Steve asked.

"Oh, I don't think you're a psychopath," Danny told him. "I've known that since I met you."

Danny looked up at Steve's hopeful eyes and sighed, saying, "I can't. I've got Grace tonight and only tonight. Rachel and Stan insisted that they get her for practically the whole day on Christmas and even though I've got four hours with her in the afternoon, she'll be so worn out that she'll probably fall asleep the second she gets to my place."

"Even better!" Steve exclaimed. "Bring her to my place!"

"What?" Danny asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Come on! Bring her to my place! I have a tree; you can bring the presents over!"

"You don't have a tree," Danny said. "I was over your place today…"

"I can cut down a tree if I have to!" Steve said defiantly. "Don't question my manliness. But come on, it'll be great! You bring Grace, I'll pick up a present for her and she can run around on the beach behind the house and I'll make dinner and-,"

"Whoa, got anymore 'ands' there?"

"Well…I do," Steve frowned. "Seriously though, it'll be great! And come on, I don't want to spend Christmas Eve on my own anymore than you do. You guys can even spend the night."

Danny bit his lower lip and then said, "We'll be over by five."

"Yes!" Steve exclaimed grinning, raising his hands up in the air, ready to pull Danny into a hug.

Danny held up his hands and said, "_But_ make sure you're in full responsible adult mode around Grace, okay?"

"Are you asking me not to have any fun?" Steve demanded.

Danny rolled his eyes and couldn't suppress the smile as he placed his hand on Steve's chest to push him away just slightly so that he could get around to his side of _his_ car, which was the passenger seat. Always.

Steve opened the door of the driver's side and climbed in, a satisfied grin gracing his features.

Steve didn't know exactly where he and Danny stood. They flirted a lot, well – _he_ flirted a lot. Danny just did a lot of eye-rolling and satisfied smiling that he thought that Steve didn't see. They'd been like that for quite a while and Kono told him that the only thing that would make them official would be them on a rooftop screaming it. Apparently everyone just assumed that they are together considering all of the flirting they did.

Steve also received quite a few remarks about his eyes turning to hearts whenever he looked at Danny.

He didn't quite understand what that meant.

Steve was rushing around his house, trying to make it look more cheery for Grace to appreciate while simultaneously whipping up a dinner of pasta and meatballs for the three once they arrived. He had stopped over at a toy store and picked up almost every toy he imagined a girl of Grace's age would like, which made him come home looking as if he had over fifteen daughters.

He grabbed the presents that he hadn't gotten time to wrap and placed them down around thee thirty dollar fake tree (already decorated) he managed to find that came in a box. He was amazed, himself, at being able to find such a thing. He tossed a sheet over the presents so that Grace couldn't see what they were when she arrived.

Steve glanced at the clock at saw that it was almost five. He rushed around a little more and before he knew it, the door bell rang. He sprinted through the house, not being able to contain his excitement, feeling like a child. He opened the door and flung his arms wide as he exclaimed, "Merry Christmas!"

"It's not Christmas yet, Steve," Grace giggled.

"Then Merry Christmas Eve," Steve said as he shrinks down to Grace's height and extended his arm. "Can I have a hug?"

She nodded, smiling as she stepped forward and gave Steve a hug.

"We're going to have so much fun," Steve told her. "We're going to have dinner and then you can go out for a little swim at the beach."

"The beach?" Grace asked, her eyes widening with childish excitement and surprise.

"Yeah! You…live in Hawaii and you get excited about the beach?" Steve said, looking at Grace but directing the question at Danny.

"She's a kid," Danny said. "Of course she gets excited about the beach."

Steve smiled and nodded, saying, "And if you're a good girl, you just may get a few presents a little earlier if your daddy won't let you stay up until midnight."

"I won't," Danny confirmed as he, too, had to look down at Steve who was still at Grace's height.

"Well he's no fun," Steve told Grace in a lowered voice.

She giggled and then said, "You have presents?"

"Santa visits here, too, you know!"

She grinned and Steve stood up and let her into the house to wander.

Danny walked in slowly after her and said, "Hey."

"Who are you?" Steve teased.

Danny grinned and tapped his partners chest, his hand lingering just a second too long as he observed the room.

"Wow. I knew you were Superman but I didn't think you'd be able to do this," Danny said as he looked around the decorated room and the tree as well as the presents poking into the sheet unevenly.

"Well maybe you should stop underestimating me, then, Danno," Steve told him.

"Wow," Grace said excitedly. "Danno look at all of the presents!"

"Yeah," Danny said and then looked at Steve, "Santa went all out this year."

"Dinner!" Steve said, clapping his hands together before clapping Danny on the back, "Grace, the kitchen is just through there but if you want to wash your hands, it's down the hall."

She nodded and set her backpack down, heading down the hall as if she lived there.

Danny turned to Steve and absently placed his hand on Steve's chest before curling his fingers gently into the fabric saying, "You shouldn't have gone to this much trouble."

"She's a kid," Steve shrugged. "She's supposed to be spoiled."

"You got anything for me under there?" Danny teased.

"Oh, that's all for Grace. I've got something special for you – I just need to get a bow long enough to wrap around myself."

Danny's eyebrows perked up as he bit his lower lip. "Now I'm scared."

"You should be," Steve laughed as they headed towards the kitchen for dinner.

"Steve! Steve! Look at this one!" Grace exclaimed as she held up a shiny shell she had found in the shallows. Steve and Grace had been frolicking around in the shallow end of the water for a while, Danny sitting on the sand watching them.

Steve jogged over to her and examined it. "Wow! That's a great find!"

"It's shaped like a heart," she giggled.

Steve grinned and said, "Hey, look at that. You'd better keep that one; maybe it's lucky!"

"Really?"

"Yeah!" Steve said. "Maybe you should make a wish and see what happens."

Grace beamed up at Steve and then closed her eyes, holding the shell tight in her little hand. When she opened her eyes, she looked around and frowned slightly.

"Steve?"

"Yeah, Grace?"

"My wish didn't come true."

"What did you wish?" he asked.

"I wished two things. Maybe that's why it didn't work."

Steve thought quickly and said, "Grace, it's Christmas Eve which means you get two wishes! Everyone knows that."

Grace bit her lip lightly as Steve asked, "So what did you wish for?"

"I first wished that Danno was swimming with us," she said.

Steve placed his hands on his hips and looked over at Danny who was watching them from further down the beach.

"Hm," he said, thinking of how to make the next move. "Grace, follow my lead." He extended his hand to her and she took it, following him as they headed in Danny's direction.

"Hey, you guys all done?" Danny asked. "How was the swim, monkey?"

Danny stood up ready with Grace's towel but before he knew what was happening, he was hoisted up into the air over Steve's shoulder and carried down in the direction of the water.

"Steve! Steve, no! No, no, no!" Danny was half laughing for Grace's sake and half begging Steve to put him down.

Grace's giggling was the only thing that kept Danny from kneeing Steve in the groin. It was almost the only thing that made it all bearable until he was tossed into the freezing water fully clothed.

When his head rose to the surface, Grace and Steve were watching him, Steve's hands on his hips. "See Grace? Your wish came true! The shell's magic."

Danny spit out sea water as Grace laughed, "Yay, Danno!"

Danny shook his head as Steve looked at him and said, "Are you mad, Danno?" His voice was actually half worried.

"You're gonna die!" Danny shouted laughing as he leaped at Steve and tackled him into the water.

"Whoa!" Steve exclaimed, laughing as he landed backwards in the water.

Grace was clapping and giggling as she jumped back, away from the pair that had begun wrestling. She kept a tight hold onto the shell as she grinned from ear to ear.

Steve grabbed hold of Danny and managed to roll them over, gaining the upper hand. Danny shook his head, trying to suppress his laughter as he tried to roll over again so that he was on top of Steve. But to no avail, Steve sat himself on Danny's torso and flung his arms wide into the air declaring that he was the "King of the Sea!"

Grace cheered and said, "Go Steve! Danno, it's okay, you can be the 'Queen of the Sea' and I can be the princess!"

Danny and Steve looked at her and shook their heads, laughing.

"Did you hear that, Danno? You're my Queen," Steve winked at him.

"Get off me," Danny chuckled. Steve helped him up; Danny now as soaking as Steve and Grace were, only fully clothed.

Steve kneeled down and dug his hand into the water, pulling out some seaweed. He walked over to Grace and bowed, placing it on her head saying, "Your Majesty, your crown."

He straightened up and she smiled broadly, gently touching the seaweed on her head as if it were actually a crown to be treated with care.

Steve then turned to Danny as he said, "You're not sticking any seaweed in my hair."

"Of course not, my Queen." He took Danny's hand and kissed the back of it tentatively, a mischievous look in his eye as he looked up at Danny through his long lashes.

Danny blushed as Grace squealed.

Danny and Steve looked at her. "Grace, what is it?" Danny asked, shocked.

"Steve! I got my second wish!"

Steve raised an eyebrow as she trotted over to them and took his hand. She puts the heart shaped shell into it and then took Danny's hand and made them hold each others.

"Maybe if you both wish on it, you'll stay together forever!"

She giggled again and ran away towards the house leaving Steve and Danny holding hands and looking at each other wide-eyed. It took a moment for them both to realise what had actually happened and what was happening, but when they nervously pulled their hands away, the shell staying in Danny's hand, both had quietly murmured a hope.

"Okay, Grace," Steve began explaining as Grace tried not to bounce in anticipation, "Since it's not technically Christmas yet, I'm going to be generous and allow you three gifts only. There's plenty more for you to open tomorrow morning, okay?"

Grace nodded excitedly and then rushed towards Steve who had turned the sheet that was covering the presents into a sack so that she could choose them at random. That and so she couldn't see the others and he would hopefully have time to wrap them once she fell asleep. "Grace, say thank you to Steve first."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you Steve!"

Steve grinned. "You're welcome. Okay, now come over here and choose three gifts. Without peeking!"

Grace dug her hand into the large sheet-turned-sack and pulled out a brand new Barbie doll complete with a swimming pool set. Her eyes lit up as she grinned at Steve. "Wow!"

Steve smiled and she set it aside, then picking two more presents, one of them being a stuffed, sparkling unicorn (quite a big one at that) and the other a small princess playhouse. She jumped up and down excitedly and scooped the presents in her arms, putting them on the floor and automatically ripping them open, beaming as she did so.

Steve dropped down next to Danny on the couch who was holding their beers. Danny handed Steve his and said, "You really shouldn't have."

Steve waved it off saying, "It's Christmas. It's fine! I wanted this one to be memorable for her since it's the first Christmas she's spending with me. Well, with us."

Danny smiled. "Yeah…" Danny lowered his voice and said, "I'm going to have put the presents that I got her under the tree once she's asleep."

"Good because you need to help me wrap the other presents I got her. I wasn't as prepared as I'd hoped I'd be."

"How many are there?" Danny asked, cautiously.

"Twenty-ish…give or take."

Danny laughed, "How many kids did you think I was bringing over here?"

"What, you don't want to out-do Step-Stan?"

Danny thought about it for a moment and then let a small smile quirk up in the corner of his lips. "You're making this very tempting."

Steve and Danny were wrapped up in conversation, not noticing that Grace had gotten up to explore the house. She returned with a leafy green plant that she observed in her hands, absently walking over to her father and his partner. She snuck up behind them and climbed onto the backrest of the couch and hung it over their heads.

"Mistletoe!" she screamed, shaking it above their heads to get their attention.

"Wh—Grace! Get down from there!" Danny exclaimed when she caught his attention. "You could fall!"

"It's a rule that when there is mistletoe, two people have to kiss! You and Steve are under it so follow the rule!"

Steve buried his face in his hands, laughing into them as he tried to play along with whatever his partner was going to say in terms of response or discipline.

"Where did you hear that?" Danny asked her after a moment, warily.

"It happens in all of the Christmas movies, Danno. Haven't you seen Santa Clause 2? And mommy and Step-Stan do it every year so you have to!"

She shook it over their heads again and Steve finally lifted his face out of his hands and rested his chin on his palm as he watched Danny, his eyes practically sparkling, his smile wide.

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" Danny asked.

"Oh, very much so, yes."

"Daddy!" Grace whined. "You have to!"

Steve raised his eyebrows, still smiling and waiting for Danny. "Danno, the longer you hold back, the more my lonely, lonely heart breaks."

Danny sighed and rolled his eyes and said, "This is what's going to happen. I'm going to kiss you _on the cheek_, and then you, monkey, have to go and brush your teeth and go to bed otherwise no presents tomorrow."

Steve frowned as did Grace as he said, "I don't know, does that seem like a fair deal to you Grace? I mean he has to do so little and yet you have to give up so much for it-,"

Danny grabbed Steve by the front of his shirt and pulled him forward, his lips meeting Steve's for a few brief moments. When he pulled away, Steve's eyes were wide yet he sported a surprised smile.

Danny looked up at Grace as Steve continued to stare at Danny. "Happy?"

She grinned and nodded and Steve shot up out of his seat and grabbed Grace and flung her over his shoulder and said, "Alright, Grace, you promised now let's get to bed because I need to talk to your Daddy and you need to sleep, otherwise Santa might come back and take the presents and-," Steve kept talking speedily as he practically sprinted through the hall to the bathroom with Grace over his shoulder to get her to go to sleep as quick as possible, Danny watching him with a raised eyebrow and a smirk on his lips.

Once Steve had set up the guest bedroom in record time for her, Grace climbed into bed and was very soon, asleep. Tired from the day's events and excitement, she was out like a light in a few minutes.

Steve quietly closed the door and hurried back to the living room, leaping onto the couch next to Danny.

"I think you just broke a world record," Danny told him grinning.

"You're thinking it, too, aren't you?" Steve asked.

Danny nodded and Steve attacked Danny's lips with his own, toppling him over onto his back on the couch. Steve felt around the backrest of the couch as they kissed, looking for something.

Danny pulled away for a moment, "What are you looking for?"

"Our reason should it come up, because apparently we're obvious," Steve said as he shook the mistletoe above their heads.

Danny laughed, "You're such an idiot," before pulling Steve down for another kiss.

"You know, you and Grace should come over more often," Steve told him, in between kisses, "She can convince you to do things that I've been trying to hint at for the past year."

Danny grinned and then asked, "So where's my Christmas present?"

"Well I couldn't find a bow…hold on I'll just take my shirt off and entice you with my manly chest-,"

Danny shook his head and kissed Steve on the lips softly and said, "If that shirt comes off, it's going to be because I take it off. But not until we're completely alone."

Steve frowned but then gasped in realization as he said, "Your Christmas present is way better than mine."

"Well depending on whether or not you can find a bow in time because I think getting you for Christmas would be the best present ever."

Steve grinned, blushing and said, "Awwwww! You're making my heart melt and my toes feel all tingly! I think I've got butterflies, too-"

"Shut up and kiss me you idiot."


End file.
